Casino Royale
A brand-new poker room (opened in 2009) only a few miles away from the capitol building, the Casino Royale took over the defunct gaming license from Duffy's Bar and has become a nice little casino. They're actively trying to grab poker business from the Sacramento area, by offering a number of player-friendly innovations, including hours-tracking which can result in cash prizes or other benefits. Games Wait Time: Varies. Usually only one table at any given limit or game, so it may take half an hour or more for a seat to open. Game Nature: A lot of local passive rocks and a few younger hotshots. Rake: $1 jackpot drop is taken even if there is no flop. * $3+$1 jackpot for 7-9 players, $2+$1 for 6 players, $1+$1 for 5 or fewer players Posting: New players do not need to post to enter a game. Shuffling: Shufflemaster machines on all tables Tournaments Many regular tournaments, and the occasional "special event" tournaments - call the casino for details. * Mon-Thu 11am NLHE $10+5+5, $10 rebuys, $20 add-on. * Mon 6pm NLHE $20+5+5, $20 rebuys, $20 add-on. $1000 guarantee. * Tue 6pm NLHE $10+5+5, $10 rebuys, $20 add-on. * Wed 6pm NLHE $20+5+5, $20 rebuys, $20 add-on. Bounty tournament: $20 bounty. * Fri 11am NLHE $20+5+5, $20 rebuys, $20 add-on. $1000 guarantee. * Sat 11am NLHE $50+20, 1x20 rebuy. Deep stack (10K chips). May be canceled in favor of special tournaments on any given week. * Sun 11am NLHE $20+5+5, $20 rebuys, $20 add-on. Bounty tournament: $20 bounty. * Sun 5pm NLHE $75+205, 1x60 rebuy. Deep stack. Jackpots Various jackpot promotions over the course of a year, ranging from high hand promotions to "first person to get a particular set of quads wins $100", and so forth. Atmosphere An upscale poker room that was just built and opened in late 2008 or early 2009, the Casino Royale poker room has a bunch of modern amenities, including very comfortable player's chairs and a sophisticated player's card hours-tracking system identical to that found at Station Casinos. A small but nice restaurant is up front, as you enter the building; the major portion of the building is the large casino room. Along with 8 poker tables, there are a half dozen blackjack tables and Pai Gow tables. The brush or an off-duty dealer will often join a game to keep it going if it looks like a game is getting short-handed. In general, the staff at Casino Royale seems to go out of their way to be friendly and personable, and the open and pleasant room design makes this possibly the nicest poker room in the area. Neighborhood: Right along a highway, on a frontage road, you're surrounded by hotels and a residential area. Parking: 40 spaces or so in a reasonably-sized parking lot. Tables and Chairs: Extra-large 9-player tables. Soft, somewhat worn, rust-colored felt with black vinyl armrests, good padding, and a clean commit line. Player chairs are extra-comfy high-backed leather-padded office-style chairs with wheels and a swivel base (and adjustable up/down pneumatic tubes), with no arms. Rollup tables to hold drinks. Service and Comps Food service available, and drink service. Food and drink both come from the nice restaurant at the front of the building. Links and Notes * Nearest competitor is the Capitol Casino in Sacramento. * MarkT visited in Oct 2009.